On Reduced Competitiveness
» Assembly Republicans a rare breed these days
Interesting tidbit here on the shifts in suburban politics. The case in New York is made unique due to Dem control of the map-making. But similarities in voting behavior exist even in southern suburbs that are no longer as Republican as they used to be.
There seems to be no realistic chance that the Republicans can recapture the Assembly majority soon, but the GOP would like to get back to 51 seats, enough to sustain a gubernatorial veto, which takes a two-thirds vote to override.But the trends all seem to be against them.
"What we're seeing is the culmination of reduced Republican competitiveness in the suburbs, partly because the districts are rigged but also because of population dynamics and shifts," said Gerald Benjamin, a dean at SUNY-New Paltz and a longtime observer of state politics. "The real paradigm is rural-suburban-urban, and the suburban battleground is increasingly showing a disposition to Democrats. Republicans have become the party of rural New York."
Take Westchester County. Twenty years ago, there were six Republican and three Democratic Assembly members. Today, seven Democrats represent the county, with Greg Ball, R-Carmel, representing a small slice of northern Westchester.
In New York City, Louis Tobacco, R-Staten Island, is the sole GOP member among the 64 who represent the five boroughs.